@SHIELD Agent 47 If HFCS was "caused" by capitalism, all it takes to solve it is people NOT buying it. As is, products that use actual sugar and countless alternative sweeteners are available. At least for big brands like Coca-Cola.

Not so much that it's worth the extra money to buy it in glass bottles all the time (I think the most you can get is a 6-pack of Coke in glass bottles around here, and it's signifcantly more expensive than 6 plastic), but every once in a while it's nice to drink from an old-fashioned bottle

The drink is safe to drink for a good while after, the expiration date seems to apply to how "good" it will be. Usually the carbonation gives out before anything starts growing or it becomes unsafe to consume

@TM2-Megatron Yeah, it is like @TheMightyMollusk says. The catch is that usually means they can contain beef, and I confirmed it by pushing my luck. XD So... yeah, if going to the theater was about watching the film, it might be worth potentially resting on the balls of my feet while technically sitting in the chair, but put it all together... and I just wait to watch it at home. Oh, and ticket prices, always ticket prices.

Think of it as the German variety of Engrish, only done completely on purpose for maximum hilarity. The target audience are bilingual German native speakers who a) understand the intended meaning and b) realize the absurdness of the end result.

Unfortunately no Squidkids at Sea World so no splat zones. Now that would have been a good brand deal to advertise in the park, and would have made more brand sense than friggin' Mystic Knights of Tir Na Nog.

Hard to say. I think for me it's probably a tie between Reveal the Shield (Takara version) and Unite Warriors. Titans return has some great looking figures, but I'm just not a fan of the headmaster gimmick.

Classics, since I very much liked the angle that it felt like a continuation of G1 from after Action Masters, what with Bumblebee getting a new aerial backpack, Optimus having a vaguely AM-y deco with the yellow deco hits and blue going up the legs, and Megatron taking color cues from the Neutro Fusion Tank as necessitated by child safety laws, and Grimlock (while being pretty much terrible) was sort of a weird throwback to the Pretender version.

Everything else felt more like a rehash than a continuation afterwards.

The thing about "repaint wars" wasn't so much about individual molds as it was the full team. It was like you couldn't get 2 without doubling up on at least one mold (heck, sometimes you couldn't avoid that with just one gestalt).

That was always going to be basically unavoidable with how the toyline works. ~50% of all mass retail releases are going to be redecoes. That is just a fact of life.

So let's say that we want all four of the '86 combiners to have unique limbs. If we look at the limbs, that's 16 moulds, which is two years worth of new moulds (Generations gets 16 Deluxes per year, with 7-9 brand-new moulds). So right off the bat, Combiner Wars would have to be six months longer than in reality, through to the end of 2016. Would Hasbro run a two-year toyline without a refresh nowadays? Probably not.

We also then have to increase the number of "made-up" redeco combiners relative to reality, because we now need to fill four waves with stuff that isn't the "Big Four".

Combiner Wars was mostly par for course in terms of mould reuse. But because the line encouraged the collector to purchase figures in complete sets, rather than picking and choosing the guys they liked, it meant people were simply more cognisant of the fact that half of everything was redecoes.

So are we just being spoiled with Titans Return, then? (Not being snarky, it's an honest question)

Because looking at the numbers, for CW I count 9 Deluxe molds and 4 Voyagers, which (only looking at the six waves of mass retail) got used for 24 Deluxe and 9 Voyager toys. Some of those molds got used four times. Whereas so far for TR we have (at least) 13 deluxe molds and five Voyager molds, for 18 and 7 toys respectively, with none of the molds being used more than twice so far.

Because looking at the numbers, for CW I count 9 Deluxe molds and 4 Voyagers, which (only looking at the six waves of mass retail) got used for 24 Deluxe and 9 Voyager toys. Some of those molds got used four times. Whereas so far for TR we have (at least) 13 deluxe molds and five Voyager molds, for 18 and 7 toys respectively, with none of the molds being used more than twice so far.

TR stole from CW, effectively.

Things like "number of new moulds" are budgeted for on a per-year basis, rather per-line. Since TR started halfway through 2016, and since the new gimmick meant it couldn't reuse any earlier moulds, that meant it got the lion's share of 2016's new moulds, with the last six months of CW having to make do with very little.

Judging by the alternate Brawl head on the Rook mould, it seems like at some point the designers weren't sure if they'd be able to do any new CW Deluxe moulds in 2016...

EDIT: Here's a table of Generations new moulds by year to demonstrate:

(I'm counting Chromedome and Highbrow as new moulds because they basically are.)

The thing about "repaint wars" wasn't so much about individual molds as it was the full team. It was like you couldn't get 2 without doubling up on at least one mold (heck, sometimes you couldn't avoid that with just one gestalt).

That was always going to be basically unavoidable with how the toyline works. ~50% of all mass retail releases are going to be redecoes. That is just a fact of life.

So let's say that we want all four of the '86 combiners to have unique limbs. If we look at the limbs, that's 16 moulds, which is two years worth of new moulds (Generations gets 16 Deluxes per year, with 7-9 brand-new moulds). So right off the bat, Combiner Wars would have to be six months longer than in reality, through to the end of 2016. Would Hasbro run a two-year toyline without a refresh nowadays? Probably not.

We also then have to increase the number of "made-up" redeco combiners relative to reality, because we now need to fill four waves with stuff that isn't the "Big Four".

Combiner Wars was mostly par for course in terms of mould reuse. But because the line encouraged the collector to purchase figures in complete sets, rather than picking and choosing the guys they liked, it meant people were simply more cognisant of the fact that half of everything was redecoes.

So are we just being spoiled with Titans Return, then? (Not being snarky, it's an honest question)

Because looking at the numbers, for CW I count 9 Deluxe molds and 4 Voyagers, which (only looking at the six waves of mass retail) got used for 24 Deluxe and 9 Voyager toys. Some of those molds got used four times. Whereas so far for TR we have (at least) 13 deluxe molds and five Voyager molds, for 18 and 7 toys respectively, with none of the molds being used more than twice so far.

Guess I'd need to look back at earlier lines for real comparison...

Not spoiled by Titans Return, but a distorted view since it's the first half of the line. There will be more new molds at the start than at the end. Wave 4 deluxes have 2 repaints and 3 new molds and wave 5 deluxe is evidently 3 repaints/remolds.

However, I do think CW was a little heavier on repaints/remolds than other lines. (Wasn't part of the designers getting to do a line of combiners was pointing out to Hasbro higher-ups that they'd do more mold re-use?)

It's hard to overstate the excitement I had for Classics when it first came out. Most of those toys hold up exceptionally well, too. There were very few clunkers.

As a "filler" line, it was also very easy to collect the whole set. At the time, it seemed like this was going to be a one-and-done special event, so the "extra" figures they added through exclusives -- Ultra Magnus vs Skywarp, Devastator, Soundwave re-issue -- all felt really special. And then the Botcon set was an incredible capstone to the line. How naive we were.

When Universe happened, it turned Classics from a contained, collectible line into the beginning of this huge thing. Now, we're at a point where for many the goal is to get definitive updates to every G1 toy and character, but that wasn't what Classics set out to do. Indeed, the later lines feel less like complete entities and more just opportunities to check off a list of characters we want "Classics" versions of.

I remember being thrilled with Devastator and the Cybertron redecos from Botcon 2007. Nobody displays the original Classics line as a solitary entity anymore, and certainly nobody kept that Devastator around as part of their Classics display. But looking at it in isolation, separate from what came afterwards, it's a great line with a lot to love.

For me, CW is my favorite, and it's not even remotely close. I've always loved combiners. CW not only gave some great updates to some of my favorite TFs, but it also elevated the combining mechanic itself. Past combiners were always a great idea, but the execution was always a mixed bag. The CW combiner joints changed combiners from something that you fiddle with long enough to get it look decent before putting on display to something you could really have fun with.

Then, throw in new combiners, new members for old combiners, new Legends members, etc. and it just ended up being a really satisfying line that pushed all the right buttons for me. Even now, when I've mostly cleared everything pre-CW off my desk and am starting to pack up the first couple TR waves, I have 15 CW/UW combiners sitting out, have space reserved for two more yet to come, and am tempted to try to make room for the three currently packed away. I'm left wishing they'd gone ahead and released CW versions of the last few '84 Autobots (despite being more of a Decepticon fan and normally skipping a lot of the Autobots), and I really hope PotP really does bring in the rumored Predaking, along with hopefully more beast combiners too.

First off, I feel that the poll really should be a mutli option thing, because I cannot say that I like one line above another.

I can't really compare lines because much of the figures I've collected from the classics/TFU/Generations/CW/TR have been great with a few missteps along the way, good example of this would be TFU Galvatron, that figure is a mess, looks good but clearly idiots at Hasbro said to shink it down from voyager to deluxe and look how well that turned out. The more resent Galvatron figure would been prefect if he didn't have the Headmaster gimmick or Titan master, whichever you prefer, me, its Headmaster. I think the best Deluxe I've seen in terms of engineering has to be War for Cybertron Optimus prime, complex yes but he turns into something pretty awesome. I think the figure I kind of regret getting would be Titan Class Metroplex, simply because he is FAR To large, thus I will not be getting his upcoming rival or the Fortress Maximus figure, thou Scamper that comes with Metroplex is a lot more fun to play with. The current run of the scout sized figures (or legends as they go by today) are some of the best figures I've gotten and I'm pretty pleased with. The thing with Combiner Wars that kind of surprised me was the fact Hasbro didn't use this line as an excuse to rerelease older combiners such as RID Build team and Team bullet train, their pretty good figures.

The seeker deluxe mould, is ok and a poduct of the time of release, seeing the Classics line was meant to be just a one off line to fill in the space between the end of Cybertron and the debut of the first movie line and I expect Hasbro didn't expect that to be as popluar as it was, the classics line was the line where I really started collecting TFs in serious manner and since then I've gotten loads of TFs in various sizes and colours. The resent leader class seekers I've passed on because, first off, their just retools of Jetfire/Skyfire and secondly I rather see the seekers as Voyager figures so that they fit in nicely with other figures in my collection. At the mo, there not really many figures that exicte me anymore, it might because my love of TF is waning but then again I've not watched a single ep of this current RID show, the animation from the trailer simply put me off along with the fact they brand it a sequel to Prime and I expect a sequel to be done in the same kind of animation style as Prime or superior animation not inferior animation, thus the only TF stuff I watch of late is main stop motion from Youtube and there are some great videos out there that put Bay's films to shame (solely my view).

Anyway, going back to the main subject, I really like a lot of the figures from the classics style lines, they have more heart in them than most of the movie figures do, because every figure has a bit of charm about them that make them stand out, thou I think some of the best would be those with light piping, it really gives life to the figures, while the actual movie figures, from what I've gotten, don't really have the same kind of charm about them, sure I have a few in my collection but I have focused more on the Generations/classics/TFU lines than the movie ones, of course I have begun sharing my love of TF figures a bit with my young nephew and I let him play with some of the legends figures but never my third party ones, he working on mastering the transformations of some of those figures but he only 4 so it takes time.

As for the future, I don't really know, I'm thinking of getting Overlord and Skyshadow leader class figures, I hope Skyshadow get retooled into Thunderwing, I hope to see some other combiners from G1 in the future and maybe another Optimus prime who compatable with CW figures, Hasbro I think hit the right mark more or less with CW combining means, its simple yet effective, thou I would like to see maybe a extra panel or something that hides the combining port on the legs of the combined mode, so they don't come out so easily unless you want them to come out. I also would like to see a new seeker mould but as voyager class, its high time Starscream and company took their rightful place in the size scale.

I have trouble picking an overall winner too, but that's kind of expected when the thread is about picking a favorite, which by definition is "preferred before all others".

I suppose one could note that this is the perfect question to ask whenever fans whine about Hasbro "not listening." They haven't just been listening, but their responses have taken the form of so many awesome iterations of expression that it's nigh-impossible to pick the best one.

I'd love for Generations to pick up the Action Masters ethos of the 60/40 new characters/old characters split. Not gonna happen, but it'd hit that G1 nostalgia point for me better than just infinite versions of dudes I already have, and give a sense of an outwardly expanding G1 universe that hasn't really been around for quite some time.

I'd love for Generations to pick up the Action Masters ethos of the 60/40 new characters/old characters split. Not gonna happen, but it'd hit that G1 nostalgia point for me better than just infinite versions of dudes I already have, and give a sense of an outwardly expanding G1 universe that hasn't really been around for quite some time.

In theory, I'd like that, too, but in practice, it needs to be made up of characters I know and enjoy for me to want any of the new faces. This is why Generations does so well, I think. I remember during the post-ROTF days, when original characters like Terradive and Tomahawk were coming out, and people were raving about what great figures they were, and my gut reaction was "I don't know or care about who they are." Meanwhile, slap a Springer head and deco on Tomahawk, and I'm there.

So, I guess if they were going to add more non-G1 releases, they'd have to be drawn from or added to the IDW comics, or some other media, and be well-written to get me interested.

Actual bios would go a long way to help that. As in, like, more than two sentences just telling me what awesome stuff whatever guy does instead of who he is. I know that's, like, anathema these days, but in a franchise supposedly driven by characters, it's good to have, um, character.

Actual bios would go a long way to help that. As in, like, more than two sentences just telling me what awesome stuff whatever guy does instead of who he is. I know that's, like, anathema these days, but in a franchise supposedly driven by characters, it's good to have, um, character.

I've said it before, and I'll say it again. Including bios on the pack-in comics was one of the best things in the Combiner Wars series. We just needed more of them.

Well, QT/QTF gave us my favourite seeker mould, my favourite Ironhide/Ratchet mould, one of my favourite Optimus Prime moulds, and pretty much every release makes me smile like a goon; so I'm going to have to side with these tiny bundles of love: